Turns out java has been moved into brew core recently, so the correct command as of August 2022 is:

brew install java

Then check your installation by running

java -version

If the result does not looks like this:

openjdk 18.0.2 2022-07-19
OpenJDK Runtime Environment Homebrew (build 18.0.2+0)
OpenJDK 64-Bit Server VM Homebrew (build 18.0.2+0, mixed mode, sharing)

but like this:

The operation couldn’t be completed. Unable to locate a Java Runtime.
Please visit http://www.java.com for information on installing Java.

Then you also need to create a symlink for the system Java wrappers to find this JDK:

sudo ln -sfn /opt/homebrew/opt/openjdk/libexec/openjdk.jdk \
     /Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines/openjdk.jdk
Answer from Tim Fulmer on Stack Overflow
Discussions

macos - How to install specific Java version using Homebrew? - Stack Overflow
As instructed by homebrew, the ... java to remove the other version I had previously installed. 2017-11-19T14:44:17.137Z+00:00 ... The workaround for now is to brew tap homebrew/cask-versions and use brew cask install homebrew/cask-versions/adoptopenjdk8 2019-04-19T21:32:39.737Z+00:00 ... /usr/bin/ruby -e "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homeb... More on stackoverflow.com
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macos - How do I install Java on Mac OSX allowing version switching? - Stack Overflow
I want to install OpenJDK Java on Mac OSX and have it work alongside other JDK's since it is a newer release. Currently, I downloaded the tar.gz and placed it in my path but that is hard to mainta... More on stackoverflow.com
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terminal - Recommended way to install Java with brew (just to run Java apps without a development environment) - Ask Different
I saw today: brew install --cask ripme ==> Caveats ripme requires Java 8+. You can install the latest version with: brew install --cask temurin There are so many brew packages for Java, I do... More on apple.stackexchange.com
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May 30, 2022
Java on Macbook Air (MacOs Sierra) not possible?
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GitHub
gist.github.com › gwpantazes › 50810d5635fc2e053ad117b39b597a14
How to install different JDK versions on MacOS with Homebrew · GitHub
Note that it's poured from the OpenJDK formula. $ brew install openjdk@11 # Install OpenJDK 11 · Homebrew does not offer an obvious way to install an older feature release of Java other than the current generally-available feature release.
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DevQA
devqa.io › brew-install-java
How to Use Brew to Install Java on Mac
If not, you can install it via: $ ruby -e "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/master/install)" If you already have brew installed, make sure you have the latest version by running the following command in a terminal
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GitHub
github.com › AdoptOpenJDK › homebrew-openjdk
GitHub - AdoptOpenJDK/homebrew-openjdk: AdoptOpenJDK HomeBrew Tap · GitHub
June 17, 2024 - $ brew tap AdoptOpenJDK/openjdk $ brew install --cask <version>
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Homebrew
formulae.brew.sh › formula › openjdk
Homebrew Formulae: openjdk
brew install openjdk · Also known as: java, openjdk@26 · Development kit for the Java programming language · https://openjdk.org/ License: GPL-2.0-only WITH Classpath-exception-2.0 · Development: Pull requests · Formula JSON API: ...
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Homebrew
formulae.brew.sh › cask › temurin@19
temurin@19 — Homebrew Formulae
brew install --cask temurin@19 · Name: Eclipse Temurin Java Development Kit · JDK from the Eclipse Foundation (Adoptium) https://adoptium.net/ Development: Pull requests · Cask JSON API: /api/cask/temurin@19.json · Cask code: temurin@19.rb ...
Find elsewhere
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GitHub
gist.github.com › jonjack › 898efa5ccc79c140533ed53e0b1edbad
Install Java on Mac OSX via Home-brew · GitHub
brew tap caskroom/cask brew tap caskroom/versions // we will also install the handy cask completions. brew install brew-cask-completion · We can check the various releases of Java that are available.
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GitHub
gist.github.com › navicore › 808908a1207c66399d2bb7b901d80430
install java on mac osx with brew · GitHub
rm /usr/local/Homebrew/Library/Taps/homebrew/homebrew-cask-versions/Casks/adoptopenjdk8.rb brew tap adoptopenjdk/openjdk brew install --cask adoptopenjdk11 brew install --cask adoptopenjdk13 brew install --cask adoptopenjdk8 brew install jenv jenv add /Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines/adoptopenjdk-8.jdk/Contents/Home/ jenv add /Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines/adoptopenjdk-13.jdk/Contents/Home/ jenv add /Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines/adoptopenjdk-11.jdk/Contents/Home/ jenv versions jenv global 11 source ~/.zshrc
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Medium
medium.com › @haroldfinch01 › step-by-step-guide-installing-and-switching-java-versions-on-mac-osx-f3896b9872f4
Step-by-Step Guide: Installing and Switching Java Versions on Mac OSX | by Harold Finch | Medium
May 21, 2024 - /bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)" Use Homebrew to install the Java versions you need. You can install multiple versions of Java this way.
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GitHub
gist.github.com › productinfo › ac0af7e776cd40aa7dbf62e08af807e3
How to install different Java Versions with Homebrew on MacOS · GitHub
Note that it's poured from the OpenJDK formula. $ brew install java # Install the most recent feature release of OpenJDK
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Medium
medium.com › @manvendrapsingh › installing-many-jdk-versions-on-macos-dfc177bc8c2b
Installing & switching between multiple JDK on macOS | by Manvendra P Singh | Medium
February 20, 2023 - /bin/bash -c “$(curl -fsSL ... to install available formulae or cask with just one line commands brew install xxxx or brew install --cask xxxx · First, let's search Homebrew to find available java version...
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Codemia
codemia.io › home › knowledge hub › how to brew install java?
How to brew install java? | Codemia
January 27, 2025 - /bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)" This script installs Homebrew and prepares it for use. Once Homebrew is installed, you can proceed to install Java. Homebrew makes it extremely easy to install Java and manage different versions.
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GitHub
github.com › orgs › Homebrew › discussions › 2405
mac version 11.6 , M1, brew install openjdk@11 · Homebrew · Discussion #2405
echo $JAVA_HOME /opt/homebrew/Cellar/openjdk@11/11.0.16/libexec/openjdk.jdk/Contents/Home java --version openjdk 11.0.16 2022-07-19 OpenJDK Runtime Environment Homebrew (build 11.0.16+0) OpenJDK 64-Bit Server VM Homebrew (build 11.0.16+0, mixed mode)
Top answer
1 of 11
1214

Note: These solutions work for various versions of Java including Java 8 through Java 21 (the LTS version). This includes alternative JDK's from OpenJDK, Oracle, IBM, Azul, Amazon Correto, Graal and more.

You have a few options for how to do the installation as well as manage JDK switching. Installation can be done by Homebrew, SDKMAN, asdf, or a manual install. Switching can be done by SDKMAN, asdf, or manually by setting JAVA_HOME. All of these are described below.


TL;DR - Preferred Methods of Installation

You can install Java using whatever method you prefer including SDKMAN, asdf, Homebrew, or a manual install of the tar.gz file. The advantage of a manual install is that the location of the JDK can be placed in a standardized location for Mac OSX.

However, there are easier options such as SDKMAN and asdf that also will install other important and common tools for the JVM. These two primary options are described here.

Installing and Switching versions with SDKMAN

SDKMAN is a bit different and handles both the install and the switching. SDKMAN also places the installed JDK's into its own directory tree, which is typically ~/.sdkman/candidates/java. SDKMAN allows setting a global default version, and a version specific to the current shell.

  1. Install SDKMAN from https://sdkman.io/install

  2. List the Java versions available to make sure you know the version ID

    sdk list java
    
  3. Install one of those versions, for example, Java 21 LTS:

    sdk install java 21-open 
    

    Or java 19:

    sdk install java 19.0.2-open
    
  4. Make Java 17 the default version:

    sdk default java 17-open
    

    Or switch to 17 for the current terminal session:

    sdk use java 17-open
    

When you list available versions for installation using the list command, you will see a wide variety of distributions of Java:

sdk list java

And install additional versions, such as JDK 11 from Amazon:

sdk install java 11.0.14.10.1-amzn

SDKMAN can work with previously installed existing versions. Just do a local install giving your own version label and the location of the JDK:

sdk install java my-local-13 /Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines/jdk-13.jdk/Contents/Home

And use it freely:

sdk use java my-local-13

SDKMAN will automatically manage your PATH and JAVA_HOME for you as you change versions. And as a note, it installs Java versions to ~/.sdkman/candidates/java/.

More information is available in the SDKMAN Usage Guide along with other SDK's it can install and manage such as Gradle, Maven, Kotlin, Quarkus, Spring Boot, and many others.


Installing and Switching versions with "asdf"

asdf is a version manager that supports installing and managing most languages, frameworks, and developer/devops tools. It has language specific plugins including one for Java.

  1. First, install asdf via https://asdf-vm.com/guide/getting-started.html (read there to setup your shell correctly), or more simply:

    brew reinstall asdf
    

    and read the doc for setting up your shell correctly, but if you are using asdf from Homebrew with ZSH you can execute this command to finish setup:

    echo -e "\n. $(brew --prefix asdf)/libexec/asdf.sh" >> ${ZDOTDIR:-~}/.zshrc
    
  2. Then install the Java plugin via https://github.com/halcyon/asdf-java

    asdf plugin add java
    

    and read the doc for setting up your shell correctly before continuing. Basically it says to add the following to your ~/.zshrc file (assuming you are not using another shell):

    . ~/.asdf/plugins/java/set-java-home.zsh
    
  3. Now list Java versions:

    asdf list-all java
    
  4. Install your favorite flavor and version:

    asdf install java openjdk-21
    

    or install the latest:

    asdf install java latest
    

Other important commands are...

  • List your installed versions:

    asdf list java
    
  • Set a global Java version:

    asdf global java openjdk-21
    
  • Set a local Java version for a directory:

    asdf local java openjdk-19
    

It's that easy! asdf will automatically manage your PATH and JAVA_HOME for you as you change versions. As a note, asdf installs Java versions to ~/.asdf/installs/java.

There are other languages and plugins for asdf here from the repository page: https://github.com/asdf-vm/asdf-plugins


Other Methods of Installation

Install with Homebrew

The version of Java available in Homebrew Cask previous to October 3, 2018 was indeed the Oracle JVM. Now, however, it has now been updated to OpenJDK. Be sure to update Homebrew and then you will see the lastest version available for install.

  1. install Homebrew if you haven't already. Make sure it is updated:

     brew update
    
  2. Add the casks tap:

     brew tap homebrew/cask-versions
    

    These casks change their Java versions often, and there might be other taps out there with additional Java versions.

  3. Look for installable versions:

     brew search java  
    

    or for Eclipse Temurin versions:

     brew search temurin     
    
  4. Check the details on the version that will be installed:

     brew info java
    

    or for the Temurin version:

     brew info temurin
    
  5. Install a specific version of the JDK such as java11, temurin8, temurin11, temurin17, or just java or temurin for the most current of that distribution. For example:

     brew install java
    
     brew install --cask temurin
    

And these will be installed into /Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines/ which is the traditional location expected on Mac OSX. There might be additional steps to make the JDK active reported at the end of the install process.

Install manually from OpenJDK download page:

If you need any and every version of Java, this is a good place to look.

  1. Download OpenJDK for Mac OSX from http://jdk.java.net/ (for example Java 17 and Java 21)

  2. Unarchive the OpenJDK tar, and place the resulting folder (i.e. jdk-19.jdk) into your /Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines/ folder since this is the standard and expected location of JDK installs. You can also install anywhere you want in reality.

  3. Set JAVA_HOME environment variable to point at direction where you unarchived the JDK.

For further information see the answer specific to manual installation. Also see the section below "Switching versions manually" for more information on how to manage multiple manual installations.

Other installation options:

Some other flavours of OpenJDK are:

Azul Systems Java Zulu certified builds of OpenJDK can be installed by following the instructions on their site.

Zulu® is a certified build of OpenJDK that is fully compliant with the Java SE standard. Zulu is 100% open source and freely downloadable. Now Java developers, system administrators, and end-users can enjoy the full benefits of open source Java with deployment flexibility and control over upgrade timing.

Amazon Correto OpenJDK builds have an easy to use an installation package for Java 8, 11, 17, and Java 21. It installs to the standard /Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines/ directory on Mac OSX.

Amazon Corretto is a no-cost, multiplatform, production-ready distribution of the Open Java Development Kit (OpenJDK). Corretto comes with long-term support that will include performance enhancements and security fixes. Amazon runs Corretto internally on thousands of production services and Corretto is certified as compatible with the Java SE standard. With Corretto, you can develop and run Java applications on popular operating systems, including Linux, Windows, and macOS.

Microsoft Java JDK - certified builds of OpenJDK from Microsoft.


Where is my JDK?!?!

To find locations of previously installed Java JDK's installed at the default system locations, use:

/usr/libexec/java_home -V

Matching Java Virtual Machines (4):
19 (x86_64) "Homebrew" - "OpenJDK 19" /usr/local/Cellar/openjdk/19/libexec/openjdk.jdk/Contents/Home
18.0.1.1 (x86_64) "Homebrew" - "OpenJDK 18.0.1.1" /usr/local/Cellar/openjdk/18.0.1.1/libexec/openjdk.jdk/Contents/Home
17 (x86_64) "Homebrew" - "OpenJDK 17" /usr/local/Cellar/openjdk/17/libexec/openjdk.jdk/Contents/Home
11, x86_64: "Java SE 11" /Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines/jdk-11.jdk/Contents/Home
1.8.301.09 (x86_64) "Oracle Corporation" - "Java" /Library/Internet Plug-Ins/JavaAppletPlugin.plugin/Contents/Home /usr/local/Cellar/openjdk/17/libexec/openjdk.jdk/Contents/Home

You can also report just the location of a specific Java version using -v. For example for Java 17:

/usr/libexec/java_home -v 17

/usr/local/Cellar/openjdk/17/libexec/openjdk.jdk/Contents/Home

Knowing the location of the installed JDK's is also useful when using tools like JEnv, or adding a local install manually to SDKMAN -- and you need to know where to find them.

If you need to find JDK's installed by other tools, check these locations:

  • SDKMAN installs to ~/.sdkman/candidates/java/
  • asdf install to ~/.asdf/installs/java

Version Switching

If you are using SDKMAN or asdf you are already covered and can stop reading! Otherwise, here are some options to switch existing VM installations.

Switching versions manually

The Java executable is a wrapper that will use whatever JDK is configured in JAVA_HOME, so you can change that to also change which JDK is in use.

For example, if you installed or untar'd JDK 16 to /Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines/jdk-16.jdk if it is the highest version number it should already be the default, if not you could simply set:

export JAVA_HOME=/Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines/jdk-16.jdk/Contents/Home

And now whatever Java executable is in the path will see this and use the correct JDK.

A simple way to change JDKs is to create a function in your ~/.bashrc or ~/.zshrc file:

jdk() {
    version=$1
    export JAVA_HOME=$(/usr/libexec/java_home -v"$version");
    java -version
}

And then change JDKs simply by:

jdk 1.8
jdk 9
jdk 11
jdk 13

Edits:

  • removed Jabba and JENV as both appear to have stagnated, issue count is climbing dramatically, and issues/PR's are not being addressed by the maintainers.
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41

This is how I did it.

Step 1: Install Java 11

You can download Java 11 dmg for mac from here: https://www.oracle.com/technetwork/java/javase/downloads/jdk11-downloads-5066655.html

Step 2: After installation of Java 11. Confirm installation of all versions. Type the following command in your terminal.

/usr/libexec/java_home -V

Step 3: Edit .bash_profile

sudo nano ~/.bash_profile

Step 4: Add 11.0.1 as default. (Add below line to bash_profile file).

export JAVA_HOME=$(/usr/libexec/java_home -v 11.0.1)

to switch to any version

export JAVA_HOME=$(/usr/libexec/java_home -v X.X.X)

Now Press CTRL+X to exit the bash. Press 'Y' to save changes.

Step 5: Reload bash_profile

source ~/.bash_profile

Step 6: Confirm current version of Java

java -version
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Medium
medium.com › @kirebyte › using-homebrew-to-install-java-jdk11-on-macos-2021-4a90aa276f1c
Using HomeBrew to Install Java JDK11 on MacOS (2021) | by Erick Gustavo López Siordia | Medium
August 5, 2021 - $ /bin/bash -c “$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)” ... If you skip this step the system won’t be able to find a java runtime for you to use. sudo ln -sfn /usr/local/opt/openjdk@11/libexec...
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GitHub
github.com › homebrew › install
GitHub - Homebrew/install: 📥 Homebrew (un)installer
export HOMEBREW_BREW_GIT_REMOTE="..." # put your Git mirror of Homebrew/brew here export HOMEBREW_CORE_GIT_REMOTE="..." # put your Git mirror of Homebrew/homebrew-core here /bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)"
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Snyk
snyk.io › blog › install-java-on-macos
How to install Java on macOS | Snyk
April 17, 2024 - 2. Install Homebrew: If Homebrew is not installed, you can install it by running the following command in Terminal: /bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)"